Farewell to Web Accessibility – Part 1

That job is basically done. After about 17-18 years of (sometimes very deep, sometimes little) involvement in web accessibility, I've decided to finally let it go and spend that effort on some of my other projects.

Wait a minute, the job is done?

Yup. It's all over. Like a good strategy, the key pieces are all in place and it's all playing out fairly predictably, almost inevitably. Yes, forecasting is risky and the wild cards that futurists refer to can still emerge. And I realize that there are still lots and lots of websites that aren't usable by many people. That's not good. But from a big picture perspective the laws are all in place. The culture is in place. The right entities are now being sued [National Association of the Deaf v. Netflix] and are losing [Canada (Attorney General) v. Jodhan]. The techies are involved. The arguments are less and less about whether websites should be accessible (despite how it sometimes feels), and more and more about how they should be accessible, and thanks to the great consistency and clarity of the shared mental model brought about by version 2 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG2), even those arguments and discussions are taking place in narrower and narrower specialties.

 

Why I’ll Probably Get a Microsoft Surface – And No, Not (Just) For the Keyboard

Barring any show-stoppers, I plan to migrate back to the Microsoft Windows ecosystem once the Surface tablet (Pro) arrives.

I make no apology for being seduced into the world of iDevices: iPad, iPhone. They have been, still are, absolutely amazing devices. As far as consumer electronics go, the best. For almost anyone – non-techies, seniors looking for their first 'computer', some road warriors, people (especially children) who experience certain types of disabilities – I will continue to encourage use of the iPad, iPhone, iCloud, etc. Heck, I'll continue using them (well, the iPad at least) for certain functions probably until the built-in, non-replaceable battery wears out. Both of my iDevices, for example, were phenomenally useful on my cross-country motorcycle trip last summer. Maybe I can find a way to permanently mount the iPhone on the motorcycle as my on-board MP3 player / radio / phone / GPS /… Hmmm…

 

But